Road Plans Get Mixed Reactions Greenland Road Widening Detailed

Road Plans Get Mixed Reactions Greenland Road Widening Detailed

Article excerpt

A five-year, $90 million project to widen the two-lane, 1.8-mile stretch of Greenland Road to Philips Highway and to complete the rest of Florida 9A nearby, drew mixed opinions Monday from about 20 residents who attended an informational meeting.

The city will spend $3.5 million to three-lane Greenland Road between Coastal Lane and the Interstate 95 overpass. The Florida Department of Transportation will spend the rest to build a five-lane overpass over the interstate, then five lanes east to Philips Highway while continuing Florida 9A to a rebuilt I-95/I-295 interchange.

City project manager Donald Wittmann said at the meeting at Greenland Pines Elementary School that "it's probably overdue by now" because of the heavy traffic seen daily on the commuter road.

He also said traffic would still flow during construction, which will begin in 2003 on the city's section, about two years after the state begins its leg.

"The state project is a huge project that will go on for 4 1/2 years," he said. "The Greenland Road project will start during that time, and the bridge is one of the first things they will do. Then the city project will come right behind it."

People who live on Greenland Road said they are glad to see the widening, but concerned that much of the wider road will still only be two lanes like it is now, with a new center turn lane.

"Can you imagine what traffic will be like even with that widening project? There are still only three lanes on Greenland Road," said resident Dick Davies. "The place is packed."

Greenland Hideaway resident Fred Schneader said traffic figures presented at the 45-minute meeting show the wider road will offer only slightly better service.

"To go through all that expense and maintain the same level of traffic seems fruitless to me," he said. "It is not appealing and I don't know how we will get out to the interstate. You certainly can't go down to St. Augustine Road because it is backed up now."

The project picks up where the city left off in 1997, spending $4.2 million to add a new center turn lane and two wider travel lanes between St. …